It’s not particularly surprising to hear that, when asked, the general public overwhelmingly rejects the idea that advertisers should be able to target ads to them based on past web browsing. Still, it’s not altogether clear whether there is truly an organic groundswell of concern or if this is simply a knee-jerk reaction to an issue few have deeply considered and one that is easily conflated with more serious privacy issues.

Marty I. Eisenstein is a senior partner with Brann Isaacson, a law firm specializing in direct marketing law. Marty shared his thoughts on tax law, gift cards, and general legal best practices for online retailers.

Matt Cutts and Tim O’Reilly note that Google is being held to a higher privacy standard than other firms who have far far more data on us (e.g. ISPs, credit card companies, credit bureaus, etc). They’re right.